MY ZEV license plate at LAX, Why did you unplug my Leaf?

[thankyouOB]

The plug-ins dont need it...

So what do you propose for them? No free parking and no free charging? Just keep using gas?
Or do the PHEVs get the charge spots, and the 100% ZEVs have to wait in line for the quick charger on the way out?

I think $7500 of tax credits per 16kwh of battery is plenty, and our thanks of course!

those who dont like it, are not forced to take advantage of the incentives.
in fact, why even claim the tax credit or rebate, for those who find this an unfair or unwise use of government largesse.
Or pick and choose the ones you like, as the poster seems to have chosen to espouse.

for the rest of us:
the reason we have incentives is to increase the likelihood of and reward behaviors that the government and society wants to encourage.
emission-free driving, less use of petroleum products -- to name two.
In some cases, these incentives go away as more and more people adopt the behavior. In some cases, they done -- as in the mortgage deduction and oil depletion credits.

 

[TNleaf]

Each to his own. Some folks in congested areas have got a LEAF primarily for the HOV pass it is entitled to. I believe a variety of incentives is the right approach. $7,500 means nothing to someone who is independantly wealthy, but the HOV pass may mean a lot since it can't be bought (legally). Free parking means nothing to the wealthy, but priority parking may. We are all different and incentives affect us differently.

+1, very good point JP.

Back on the original topic, I'm curious if MY ZEV has read this topic yet. I know mwalsh said he sent the guy a message on facebook. I'm not all about tar and feathering, but I think this is a good opportunity for education... and I'm curious as to his response.

Did he respond to you on facebook, mwalsh?

 

[mwalsh]

Did he respond to you on facebook, mwalsh?

Nope. Sounds like he may still be out of town though.

 

[Smidge204]

lots of issues, from free parking to BEVs that dont need to recharge while parked for two months.

Find me someone who is a "non-taxpayer" :roll: and then explain what taxes have to do with parking fees at the airport.

Your proposal would essentially force BEV/PHEV owners to sit in their car for 10-30 minutes for no good reason. I thought we were supposed to be encouraging adoption of these technologies?

Here's my proposal: Install solar canopies over the parking lots to provide power to 120V/240V outlets located in the parking area. No need for free/dedicated parking since all or at least most parkign spaces will be within reach of an outlet (free charging since the electricity itself is free). No need to worry about plug standards since everyone brings their own EVSE. Cost for the PV system and equipment is likely comparable to standard EVSE equipment installation when you consider the work of bringing a full sized service into the parking lot, you get added value (park in the shade!) and overall improve the local environment (reduced heat island effect).
=Smidge=

 

[garygid]

FasTrak lanes and Tollways for the mostly-rich to use?
They should all be free.

 

[JPWhite]

lots of issues, from free parking to BEVs that dont need to recharge while parked for two months.

No need to worry about plug standards since everyone brings their own EVSE.

Your proposal is fine with the exception that if people bring their own EVSE, then theft of EVSE's will occur. Ths 240v charging port is pretty much standard for all EV's so providing L2 chargers is all that's required.

3rd party parking companies can and often do a better job than the parking areas at airports, they can easily offer to charge your car the day before you return, and have it cool/warm and ready when you arrive. One can trust a 3rd party with your EVSE.

 

[TEG]

...I'm hoping they won't just relocate the old useless chargers as they don't even have J1772 on them...

I wouldn't call them useless. There are still some 'legacy EVs' using the old standards.
Are all the old RAV4EVs now declared obsolete because so many more Leafs are on the road now?

 

[LBCev]

Did he respond to you on facebook, mwalsh?

Nope. Sounds like he may still be out of town though.

I picked my wife up from LAX on Wednesday and she noted the MY ZEV license plate on the LEAF next to mine as we were loading her luggage. At the time I hadn't read this thread. It's likely that the owner is still out of town. Or maybe just in hiding, :lol:

 

[palmermd]

FasTrak lanes and Tollways for the mostly-rich to use?
They should all be free.

they are. that is why they call it a freeway.

 

[Devin]

...I'm hoping they won't just relocate the old useless chargers as they don't even have J1772 on them...

I wouldn't call them useless. There are still some 'legacy EVs' using the old standards.
Are all the old RAV4EVs now declared obsolete because so many more Leafs are on the road now?

The old inductive chargers are indeed still useful to RAV4 drivers and there are certainly quite a few RAV4s still on the road. I even saw one yesterday driving down Sunset Blvd. That said there are people who have installed conductive charging systems in their RAV4s, this may be the way to go for them for the future.

Here's some more info on that: http://evnut.com/docs/rav_docs/rav4evpfc50.pdf

 

[rawhog]

.

 

[Valdemar]

...I'm hoping they won't just relocate the old useless chargers as they don't even have J1772 on them...

I wouldn't call them useless. There are still some 'legacy EVs' using the old standards.
Are all the old RAV4EVs now declared obsolete because so many more Leafs are on the road now?

Ok, correction, useless for the vast majority of folks on this forum

 

[Vitor]

Yep, MY ZEV is still on his honey moon or witness protection program.
The note is still there, showing some weathering now.

This morning bot L2 were "on the hook" and an empty space in fron of one of them. Life is good today, I think I got 95% charge, wasn't finished when I returned and still charging.

 

[davewill]

Problem I see with the free parking concept is that it HAS to be a temporary thing. If EVs really take off, there will be too many of them to support free parking at some point. It creates a false demand for EV charging in those lots that won't exist when the perk finally sunsets. We could end up with a lot of EVSEs that almost no one uses.

I would rather see EV infrastructure developed in the outlying parking structures that people will actually use when they have to pay. Free EV parking in the short term lots retards that development.

 

[TEG]

...there are people who have installed conductive charging systems in their RAV4s, this may be the way to go for them for the future.
Here's some more info on that: http://evnut.com/docs/rav_docs/rav4evpfc50.pdf

I think that 'solution' is likely too costly, complicated and involved for many RAV4EV owners to consider.
Also, that general purpose charger may not be as good to the expensive batteries as the factory charger.
If the public paddle chargers go away, they will probably just drive less and charge only at home.
An alternative is to lug a home charger around with you, taking up one of the passenger seats... Also, not a pleasant proposition.

I was told by the airport planner who is coordinating the grant to upgrade the paddle and Avcon chargers here in Sacramento that owners of legacy EV's can some how use the grant program to obtain J1772 to whtaever adapters.

That is only true for Avcon vehicles (Like Ford RangerEV pickup) which used an old version of the J1772 standard (1996). The new J-plug (J1772-2010) is electrically compatible with the old, so a straight through adapter cable works.
https://electricauto.site-ym.com/store/view_product.asp?id=754980" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
The 'grant' apparently offers a discount on these adapters, but they still cost $.
The RAV4EVs used an entirely different inductive paddle system that can't be handled by a simple adapter, so the intention was to leave many of the SPI paddle EVSEs in place as long as RAV4EVs still use them.

 

[JimSouCal]

Problem I see with the free parking concept is that it HAS to be a temporary thing. If EVs really take off, there will be too many of them to support free parking at some point. It creates a false demand for EV charging in those lots that won't exist when the perk finally sunsets. We could end up with a lot of EVSEs that almost no one uses.

I would rather see EV infrastructure developed in the outlying parking structures that people will actually use when they have to pay. Free EV parking in the short term lots retards that development.

That is a very good point, as with the rates charged at the ST LAX parking, no one would charge there for more than an hour or so unless spending money was a non issue. When there are too many EVs, well, that may be a good thing, nonetheless.

 

[planet4ever]

Your proposal is fine with the exception that if people bring their own EVSE, then theft of EVSE's will occur.

As has been said repeatedly on this board, the connector to the car has a hole for a small padlock. With the padlock in place you can't unlatch the connector from the car. True, someone could use a bolt cutter to chop off the EVSE on the other end, but all they would get is a box that would be worthless until they spent hundreds of dollars turning it back into a usable EVSE.

... Oh, wait. I know what they could do. Find someone who was charging at L2. Disconnect that car and use their bolt cutter to cut off the J1772 connector. Now they only have to twist the wires together in the two cables and tape it up. Maybe the solution is to remove all of the public 240v charging stations. :?

Ray

 

[JPWhite]

Your proposal is fine with the exception that if people bring their own EVSE, then theft of EVSE's will occur.

As has been said repeatedly on this board, the connector to the car has a hole for a small padlock.

That's OK but then no one else can charge their vehicle after yours is done. If you're parked for two weeks that's awful shellfish of you. Often one sees two parking spaces per charger to allow for such sharing and reduce the investment in EVSE's for the airport.

Besides which if theft is a possibility so is vandalism. Not sure I want to leave my EVSE lying around for days at a time at an airport.

JP

 

[planet4ever]

Your proposal is fine with the exception that if people bring their own EVSE, then theft of EVSE's will occur.

As has been said repeatedly on this board, the connector to the car has a hole for a small padlock.

That's OK but then no one else can charge their vehicle after yours is done. If you're parked for two weeks that's awful shellfish of you. Often one sees two parking spaces per charger to allow for such sharing and reduce the investment in EVSE's for the airport.

You're confusing things. Your previous post and mine were talking about personally owned EVSE's that are plugged into 120v outlets. I was not proposing to lock the EVSE to the outlet, nor do I know any practical way to do that in most cases.

Besides which if theft is a possibility so is vandalism. Not sure I want to leave my EVSE lying around for days at a time at an airport.

Agreed, there are concerns here, but I don't think they are any greater than the concerns over other vandalism like keying and tire slashing.

Ray

 

[JPWhite]

Agreed, there are concerns here, but I don't think they are any greater than the concerns over other vandalism like keying and tire slashing.

Ray

That's true. Mr/Ms MY ZEV ought to count him/herself lucky that car didn't get vandalized.

All the more reason to use 3rd party parking lots with controlled access.